Pets in Disaster Zones, What You Need To Know

There is FALSE information being shared online about pets in the evacuation areas.

ALL HOTELS do NOT have to take your pets. ALL shelters do NOT have to take your pets due to the PETS Act 2006.

Hotels are urged to lift their pet ban but do not have to do it. Many will do it but please do NOT shame a hotel for not accepting pets.

ALL shelters do NOT have to take pets. There are many pet-friendly shelters available but many of them can't handle families and pets.

An emergency shelter may allow you in but they may send your pets to an animal shelter. Shelters may also house your pet in another area such as another room. This is why many shelters are shipping pets (that are adoptable) out of the area. It is to make sure they have room for the pets of those who can't find a place to take their pets or does not have enough room for pets and people.

Many shelters have a limit on how many pets they can take in with each family. If you have 4 dogs and 6 cats, you may not be accepted in an emergency shelter. Most limit pets to 1-4.

If you take your animal to an emergency shelter with you, it is up to YOU to provide food and water. There is no food for pets available. Emergency shelters are NOT required to feed your animals.

Most shelters will not accept reptiles, spiders,

Prepare a kit for your pets now! It is up to you to take care of your pet.

When you evacuate your home, be sure to take:

At least a 1-week supply of food and fresh water for your pets; Don't forget the can opener if your food doesn't have a pop top

Medications, if your pets take medication;

Copies of your pets’ vaccination records and other medical records;

Information about your pet insurance policy, if you have one; and

Photos of your pets to help others identify them if you become separated. (Microchips can also help reunite you with your pets in case of a separation.)

Cat boxes, litter, bags to put waste in, crates

Put everything in Ziploc type bags to stay dry. If you are caught in flood waters, it may float!

Try to find a pet-friendly hotel. Most have already been booked but keep searching because someone may have canceled their reservations. Search numerous websites. Some may have rooms available only to their sites.

Some shelters limit what pets they will take. An example is Jacksonville shelters posted- The following animal species will be accepted into the shelters: dogs, cats, rodents (such as hamsters, gerbils, etc.), birds, and rabbits. No reptiles will be allowed in shelters.

Some of the shelters state that you MUST pre-register before arriving. Most say pets should be in crates when arriving.

I hope this helps to prepare you for what you need to do for evacuations. Even if you don't live in a coastal state, this list can be used for floods, fires, earthquakes, and tornadoes. Whatever mother nature wants to throw at us, it is best to be a prepared pet owner.

Carma Poodale (Pood-ALE) is a multi-species lifestyle pet blogger who talks about pets, wildlife, products we love, traveling and life in general. We try to find the good in every day life.
Service dog advocate.
Influencer,
Dog mom, cat mom, lover of nature
Love Life Like a Poodale

Blog Archive

BlogPaws Pet Blogger Influencer

I'm Part of the Bayer Influencer Team

NEWSLETTER

Website policy recap

This site uses cookies. Unfortunately for me, it's not the types of cookies you can eat but it tells my site that someone, somewhere has visited this site. Cookies do not use any private information. Example- A visitor from Kentucky viewed Carma Poodale at 1:00 am.

There are also banner ads or affiliate links. You click, you buy, you give me, Carma Poodale , money to spend on chickyum at no extra cost to you. I receive a portion of your sale.

Please buy lots of things :)

Some of my posts I talk about products that I really love. The companies I talk about either send me products for free or pays me to review their products.

Sometimes I love a product we bought so much, I write a review about it without the company asking me to. I will always tell you whether I was paid to talk about a product or if it is something I bought myself.

I, Carma Poodale, only talks about products that I trust and thought my readers would be interested in. They MUST have the Poodale Approved stamp of approval.

If you have questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me CarmaPoodale@gmail.com

All photos and words of my own. This site is my (c)copywrite and is NOT free for the taken.